Electro-chamber music: from loopers to... loopers

Last year, I told you about the new course I set-up at the Pays de Montbéliard conservatory: Electro-chamber music. After studying delays and ring modulation through Stockhausen's Mantra, the students went on with further explorations.
Here is a summary of what they did during the second part of the class:

• using a live granular delay (example with Reaktor Grainstates)
• focus on loopers (see below)
• audio freeze with Max
• microphones and sound design (examples with Hans Zimmer & Diego Stocco, a.o.)
• composing a performance environment

More on loopers

When asked to come up with examples of performers using a looper, the students gave me the following examples:

• Phil Stendek
  

• Bittersweet symphony, guitar & voice
• Michaël Brecker playing the EWI (Akai electronic wind instrument) - looper example from 2:10
• a bassoonist in his room
• street improv on the cello, by Prypjat Syndrome

My choice

I gave the students the following video of guitar player and composer John Gilliat. I especially like this example, because John takes the auditor into his own musical world: you listen to the music, not to the looper feats.

Composing a performance environment

One of the assignments was for the students to specify a performance environment. Different electronic instruments were at their disposal: they could connect them as desired. Of course, they connected the real instruments to play live electronic sound processing, but they started with drawings to imagine the sonic results first:

Each of the students composed a piece including improvisation, written instructions, and a performance environment. All of the compositions (from solo to trio) were performed by the students during a final concert on May 30rd, 2012.